Is Your Workplace Ready for Diverse Employees?
A refreshing trend in diversity and equity work has been diversifying leadership and recruiting diverse people to different roles.
I remember moving from Nebraska and starting my first job in Virginia. In the training class of about fifteen people, the majority of the group were Black women – being a Black woman from Nebraska, I had never experienced this before. I have also had opportunities to work with Black women in leadership roles who are doing the work I wanted to do; their presence, perspective, and influence was invaluable. I also saw these women get pushed out, unnecessarily challenged, and uncared for as long as the work was getting done.
The workplace has long been associated with violence and harm for Black people, especially in the form of microaggression. Psychologically, I’m managing the pressure to “perform twice as good” to prove I belong. I’m hyperconscious of my interactions with others to ensure I’m not associated with drama or aggression. I’m trying to focus on being the “best Black coworker” but then I’m distracted when a member of my team asks me if this is my real hair and my superiors suggest I intimidate others. But I’m also “antisocial” if I prefer to work at home and avoid company events. These experiences are not unique to me. I frequently laugh with my friends and family as we share our workplace stories, mostly so the frustration and anger don’t overwhelm us.
“Psychologically, I’m managing the pressure to “perform twice as good” to prove I belong.”
We weigh the pros and cons of talking with our white bosses to address the issues. We’re not sure if they know how to handle our coworkers’ inappropriate comments or if they will address it at all. But if we choose not to say something, we question our integrity and feel like a traitor in “the war against racism.”
Diversifying staff and leadership is a great initiative, but…
without assessing the culture of your organization and being prepared to address microaggressions, you’re unlikely to retain “the best and the brightest.” Microaggressions are not always HR issues but they significantly affect work production, the work environment and, ultimately, reflect the culture of the organization—which may not be the diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace you want it to be.
So as you’re thinking about diversifying your staff, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Do you have a process for employees to anonymously report inappropriate behavior?
Are you prepared to address interpersonal issues like the ones I shared earlier?
Are you personally prepared to accept feedback, on anything, from a person of color?
If you can’t answer these questions with certainty or you know there is work to be done to authentically welcome diverse people into your organization, reach out to me or my team at The Spark Mill. We can provide coaching and training, as well as take-home tools to have these conversations and address these issues. We can provide organizational assessments for equity, inclusion, and diversity and/or help to create a framework and action plan.